writing in the margins of life
Our backyard is beautiful right now. This morning I woke up earlier than I had in weeks and watched the sky be painted with cotton candy colors as the rays of light pierced through the trees making known to the world that a new day was breaking. Blossoms on the barren branches waved in the [...]
I called her one day last fall, crying, because my day had been really hard. I poured out my doubts, questions, and tears. She listened, just like she always does, and then gently reminded me that Jesus was enough and He wasn't going anywhere. We hung up the phone and I felt refreshed. A few [...]
I was hiking with my friend in the middle of the desert, wondering why on earth I had agreed to it. The temperature was 104 degrees and the sweat was pooling in my socks. We climbed up rocks, walked over long stretches of hard dirt, and felt the sun beat down on our backs. She [...]
This morning when checking my email, I found one from my grandmother about Hallmark channel's "Jingle in July." For those of you who have not ever enjoyed a Hallmark Christmas film, this is a summer excuse for Christmas lovers around the world to forget that it's the dead of summer, curl up on the couch, [...]
It was dusk and I was driving through the Midwestern country roads on my way home from babysitting for some friends. Peter Hollens' album of folk songs played softly in my car, and the wind rushed through the open windows blowing my hair all around. But my heart was heavy. As I wound out of [...]
It doesn't make sense. I don't understand why people kill other people out of anger. I don't understand why an invisible virus can both take and destroy lives with the fierceness of a great army. I don't understand why people we love get cancer. I don't understand why the dearest of friends are pitted against [...]
Every church has the names most often heard from the pulpit in the organization of events. We have the woman known for her teaching abilities, the woman known for her musical gifts, the woman known for her special touch with little ones, and the woman known for her hosting, and the woman known for her [...]
"It must be a dream, it must, it must," said Jill to herself. "I'll wake up in a moment." But it wasn't, and she didn't.The Silver Chair Dear Jill, Few fears are ever confined only to our dreams. We'd like for them to be, wouldn't we? To be able to open our eyes and realize [...]
Imagine you are a middle aged woman living in Holland on the brink of World War II. Each day, the radio brings news of yet another series a catastrophic political events. Uncertainty is the air people breathe, fear the pillow on which they wake and drift off to sleep on. The world seems as if [...]
Yesterday, I allowed myself to take a trip with nostalgia back to a day that is now a mere memory. I could smell the dogwood flowers blooming, feel the creaky wooden swing holding up my frame, and feel the wind rustle through the trees onto the porch and through my hair. I was fifteen years [...]
Madelyn Istrate 